


Time Out

by BunniesofDoom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Self-Indulgent, Sickfic, Volume 1 (RWBY), Yang Xiao Long Needs a Hug, healthy communication is my kink, ruby take better care of yourself challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28200987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: Ruby struggles to find a balance between her duties as a team leader and taking care of herself. Yang steps in to help.
Relationships: Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Kudos: 50





	Time Out

**Author's Note:**

> Now that I actually have some time to write again, this idea has been on my mind for a while and wouldn't leave me alone, so I finally wrote it down. This is set sometime in Volume 1, after Weiss and Ruby make up on the first day of classes. Enjoy!

Contrary to popular belief (and certain people's first impressions) Ruby takes her role as leader very seriously. Ever since her promise to Weiss, she's been determined to improve herself in any way possible—fighting skills, leadership abilities, studies—in order to be the best possible leader for her team. She wants to be someone that her teammates can depend on, whether to have their backs in a fight or someone to come to when they have a problem.

And sure, maybe some people have described her training schedule as "insane" and "not humanly possible," but Ruby is making things work just fine, thank you very much. She's always had extra energy, anyway, so the extra practice never feels like she's trying to do too much.

Deep down, Ruby can admit to herself that maybe a part of herself feels the need to prove that she belongs here, at Beacon. She is the youngest person in their class by a long shot, and she knows that her older classmates sometimes look at her as if wondering why she's even here. So she does her best to stay focused in every class, gives her all in every training session, signs up for extra lessons, and stays up studying late in the night. She falls asleep with her head in her head in her textbooks so often it's become a running joke among her teammates.

In her mind, though, it's all worth it. Team RWBY deserves the best possible person leading them, and Ruby is determined to be that person. She'll do whatever it takes.

Some days are harder than others, however.

Today is definitely not an easy day. She didn't sleep well last night, instead waking up several times from nightmares about her mother. And despite her best efforts, Ruby finds her mind drifting in class, no matter how much she tells herself to remain focused and disciplined. The pen in her hand traces the lines of the paper instead of scribbling notes to look over later.

Shaking her head, Ruby commands herself to get a grip. The air in the classroom feels too warm, despite the pleasant fall weather outside. She uses the sleeve of her uniform to wipe away the sweat gathering on her forehead. Ruby's hand stills as the professor continues to drone on from the front of the classroom.

She doesn't remember falling asleep, but she finds herself jerking awake to the shrill ring of the bell anyway. Cheeks flushed with shame, she hurries to put her things away and rush out of the classroom. At least Weiss and the rest of her team aren't there to see her embarrass herself.

No, instead it's just a bunch of her classmates who already don't think that she's up for the job.

At least the sharp sting of guilt is enough to keep from sleeping through the rest of her classes.

She manages to get the notes that she missed from Jaune, making some excuse that doesn't involve her sleeping through most of their leadership class. Over lunch she copies them down and puts the finishing touches on her essay for Professor Port. This doesn't leave her very much time to eat, but Ruby isn't that hungry anyway.

The rest of the day seems to drag on forever. By the time the bell rings to dismiss their last class, Ruby is completely exhausted. Instead of heading back to their dorms to collapse on her bunk and take a nap like she really wants to, she squares her shoulders and drags herself to the library to study for the history quiz that's coming up next week.

Her study session ends up being more frustrating than productive. After the third time she wakes up with her head cushioned on a textbook, Ruby decides to call it a night and head back to the dorms. The thought of stopping to get dinner never crosses her mind.

She wakes up before her alarm goes off, frowning sleepily at the ceiling. The room feels stuffy and hot. Ruby kicks off the blankets in an attempt to cool down. Something feels off, wrong, somehow, but she can't put her finger on what.

When her scroll finally chirps to let her know that it's time to wake up, Ruby fumbles to grab it. She struggles to turn it off, head still foggy with sleep.

"Ruby!" Weiss' voice is too shrill this early in the morning. "Turn that thing off! It's time to get up."

"Sure," Ruby mumbles automatically in response. Her finger finally finds the right button on her scroll and the annoying beeping alarm finally stops. She lets her eyes fall shut again, just for a few seconds. Then she'll get up.

"Ruby! You're going to be late to class!"

Her eyes fly open, and she sits up so fast it makes her dizzy. "Coming," she mutters, taking deep breaths as she waits for the spots floating in front of her eyes to clear. She swings her legs over the side of the bunk and braces herself to jump down like she does every morning.

She sees the floor rushing up to meet her and then—nothing.

The next thing she knows, she's laying down again, her head throbbing in time with her heartbeat. The bed underneath her is soft, and she feels too comfortable and exhausted to want to move, but she forces herself to open her eyes and look around the room anyway. She's laying on the bottom bunk—Weiss' bed, her partner won't be happy about that—and her sister is watching her from her seat on the bed opposite her.

"What?" she mumbles, face scrunching in confusion. Her voice comes out hoarse and raspy.

"Oh good, you're awake." Yang smiles at her, before standing up and crossing over to her side. "How're you feeling?"

"I—" Ruby starts, before a sudden realization washes over her. She scrambles to sit up. "I'm going to be late!"

The sudden movement makes her dizzy, and she instinctively squeezes her eyes shut to block out the way the room spins around her. She feels Yang's hands on her arms as her sister gently tips her back until she's resting against the pillows. "Yeah, you're not going anywhere right now, especially after you nearly faceplanted off the bed earlier."

After a few moments of careful, deep breaths, the ringing in her ears finally fades and Ruby squints up again at her sister. "What happened?"

"Well, you decided to take a dive head-first off your bunk. Weiss managed to catch you in time, but you did scare her half to death." The "and me" is unspoken. "You should have seen her face. Why didn't you tell us you were sick sooner?"

"I—" She pauses to clear her throat. "I thought I was just tired." It sounds like an excuse, but it's true. She'd just figured that she was having an off day or something.

"Well, now you're definitely going to get some rest." Yang reaches out to feel her forehead, frowning. "Geez, sis, you feel warm even to me."

"But what about class?" Ruby asks anxiously. She can't afford to fall behind. Even missing just a few days will set her back.

"The rest of us will keep you covered," Yang reassures her. "Professor Goodwitch said that she doesn't want to see you in class again until you're better. It won't kill you to miss a couple of days, you know."

Ruby's heart is already racing at the thought of losing so much time. "You don't understand—"

"No, I think you're the one who doesn't understand." Yang plops down on the bed next to her, running her hands through her hair with a deep sigh. "Look, I know how hard you've been working ever since Ozpin named you team leader, and I'm proud of you, but." She looks Ruby squarely in the eye. "Do you really think you're going to be able to help anyone if you're too exhausted to stay awake in class? All you're going to do at this pace is run yourself into the ground."

"I—" Ruby is forced to look away. Yang has a point, but the idea of taking a break when people are depending on her just doesn't seem right.

"Let me tell you a story," Yang says suddenly. Ruby blinks at the sudden change of topic.

So Ruby listens. She knows some parts of what Yang tells her, but other parts are surprising. Ruby knows that her and Yang have different moms, but she didn't realize how Yang had found out about that, or how desperate her sister is to know more. She tears up at the way Yang talks about their mom. It may have been years since she died, but the pain of losing her is still fresh. For both of them. Ruby still has nightmares about Summer's final mission, and she's sure that Yang does as well.

"My stubbornness should have gotten us killed that day," Yang finishes, staring at the blank wall across from them. There's a haunted look in her eyes.

Ruby has no memory of that day, not the woods, or the house, or Qrow saving them from the Grimm. "You know that wasn't your fault, right?" she asks quietly.

"Huh?" Yang looks over at her like she just grew a second head.

"The Grimm attacking us. I don't blame you for that at all. You didn't know what was going to happen." She wishes that Yang would meet her eyes.

"We wouldn't have even been out there if it wasn't for me," Yang points out. "If I hadn't been so obsessed with finding my mom, we would have never been in danger like that."

"You were just a kid," Ruby counters. "And you'd just had your whole turned upside down. Did you ever manage to find anything about your mom?"

"No," Yang sighs. "I know that she was on a team with Summer, Qrow, and dad, and that she left me when I was born, but that's it. Dad and Qrow won't talk about her. I haven't stopped looking, though." She finally turns to look at Ruby again. "But I refuse to let that search control me. I know that you have what it takes to be a great leader, but that won't matter if you keep running yourself into the ground like this. So please, give yourself a break. We've all been worried about you."

Ruby shuts her eyes. Her face feels damp, but she doesn't remember crying. "I'll try," she mumbles.

Yang smiles and shifts so that she's sitting next to Ruby on the bed. Ruby nestles close to her sister, basking in the warmth from her semblance. "Good. Now get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> Is it truly a self indulgent fic if you don't feel a bit of self loathing after writing it? Not in my experience, lol. RWBY please give me some good Ruby and Yang interactions sometime this volume, my family is dying.


End file.
